This letter book (around 420 pages) contains retained copies of the outgoing business correspondence of New York City merchant Jonathan Thorne, dated between October 23, 1839, and May 12, 1851. Thorne wrote to professional acquaintances and firms about his interests in the leather industry and about his land holdings in western Michigan. Several different copyists contributed to this volume. Three loose letters, dated in 1850 and 1851, are laid into the letter book, and two loose letters are affixed to its final pages.
Thorne's earliest letters primarily concern his involvement in the leather industry in the late 1830s and early 1840s. He corresponded with companies and individuals about hides and finances. Thorne later shifted his focus to his land holdings in Berrien County and Kalamazoo County, Michigan, and discussed issues such as taxes and tenants. Though Thorne wrote almost extensively about his business affairs, he commented on politics on at least one occasion, offering his opinions about the Locofocos and William Henry Harrison in mid-1840.
Jonathan Thorne was born in Washington, New York, on April 20, 1801, the son of Samuel Thorne, a Quaker. In 1828, he moved to New York City, where he worked in the dry goods industry. He joined Israel Corse's leather business after marrying Corse's daughter Lydia, and later became the firm's senior partner. In addition to his interests in the leather industry, Thorne held stock in the Western Union Telegraph Company and other firms, raised cattle in Dutchess County, New York, and owned land in Berrien County and Kalamazoo County, Michigan. Jonathan Thorne and Lydia Corse had at least five children: Edwin, Samuel, Jonathan, William, and Phebe Anna. After Lydia's death, Thorne married Eliza Fox. Jonathan Thorne retired around 1874, and died in 1884.